Charged

“Merry Christmas, Quaid.”

I grabbed the edge of the giant package and started to carefully peel the corner back as I picked at the tape holding it shut. She watched me with wide eyes and the longer I took with the wrapping, the more impatient she became. By the time I had one side of the tape free and opened, she had her arms crossed over her bare breasts and was tapping her foot impatiently. The fierce look was ruined by her lack of clothing but I didn’t tell her that. Instead, I took hold of the big flap I’d worked free and ripped the front of the packaging off with a quick jerk of my arm.

I blinked and lost the ability to breathe when the image waiting for me on the massive canvas was revealed. The bed sank down a little as Avett crawled back up next to me. She reached out and touched the eagle on my chest as I traced the identical image that was staring up at me from the painting in my hands.

“Remember I told you that I knew the guy that did your tattoo? Well, he and his business partner have branched out and are doing all kinds of things beyond tattoos. Custom artwork happens to be one of those things. I thought you could hang it in your new office. That way you can have a little bit of wild Quaid around even when you have to be civilized Quaid.”

I couldn’t look away from the painting and I couldn’t get my heart to stop beating her name over and over again. No one had ever done anything as thoughtful or as personal as this for me. No one understood me the way Avett did, which proved even more how right she was for me.

She reached out and peeled more of the wrapping away and I whispered, “Those are my mountains.”

She nodded and reached up to pull on the ends of her hair. “I wanted to you to be able to have your favorite place with you even when you were having a bad day.”

I let out a deep breath and moved the big painting to the side of the bed so that I could pull her to me. I arranged her so that she was straddling me and lowered my forehead so that it was resting on the center of her chest. She smelled sugary and decadent. I wanted to eat her up all over again, but it was the steady and sure beat of her heart that made me tell her, “The mountains used to be my favorite place. Now that’s anywhere you are.”

She hummed in appreciation and scraped her fingers over the short sides of my hair. “Well, you shouldn’t have too many bad days anyway now that you’re working for yourself.”

Instead of taking any of the numerous offers that had come at me fast and furiously when I walked away from the firm, I decided that I had worked too hard for other people and all the wrong reasons for far too long. The only person I wanted to impress and to prove myself to was currently wrapped around me and I knew there was nothing I could do that would make her love me any less so I decided it was time to jump again and go into private practice. I already had more clients and more inquiries than I knew what to do with and I wasn’t even officially back in business until after the first of the year. I was planning on being more selective and more discriminating in who I invested my time and legal knowledge into. I still believed everyone deserved the best defense possible, but now I wanted to give it to the people that really needed it. There would be no more putting bad people back on the street simply because they waved a wad of cash in my face and were guaranteed to get their names in the press.

I’d wanted some time to settle into life without the smoke and mirrors, and I’d wanted time to spend with Avett before she started school and went to work for Asa. I was being selfish with my time and my talent, but at least I knew I was doing it for something that mattered, something that was beyond value.

“I got you something for Christmas, too, but it’s too big to hide in the loft.”

She jerked back and looked at me with her brows puckered and her mouth set into that pout I couldn’t resist. “I told you not to spend a lot of money on me, Quaid. You better not have bought me a car or something else that’s going to make me fight with you on our first Christmas together.”

I shook my head against her soft skin and chuckled. My little hurricane was full of fire and independence, something she never let me forget. I could love her and support her but she wouldn’t let me coddle her or indulge her. She insisted that was part of us doing this relationship right. There were times when I wanted to spoil her for her simply being so unconcerned with material things but then she would remind me that I gave her my heart and the real me and that was worth more than any trinket she insisted she would lose or break anyway.

“It’s not a car … exactly. Let’s take a shower and clean up and I’ll take you by the bar so you can check it out before we head over to your parents’ house for dinner.”

She was still looking at me through narrowed eyes but she didn’t offer even a peep of protest when I scooped her up and started walking towards the bathroom. If we were taking a shower together, that meant we were going to have to get very dirty before we got clean, so it was a good thing her parents wouldn’t mind if we were running a little bit late.

Going to Brite and Darcy’s for Christmas dinner was the kind of holiday gathering I was actually excited about. I was looking forward to spending time with a family and a close-knit group of friends, where it was actually about enjoying each other’s company and spending time together, not about having the appropriate date or the best gift for the boss in order to gain brownie points and accolades. Being taken into the fold by Brite Walker was a profound experience, and knowing that the burly man not only approved of me but more importantly approved of me for his daughter was the greatest validation I had ever been given. I finally felt like I was reaching the potential I’d long been chasing after and it had nothing to do with things and everything to do with one special girl that whipped through my life like a cyclone.